Chapter 15 Beautiful and poisonous is mandala, but also desire (13)

What is beautiful and poisonous?The answer is "mandala". When you see a mandala for the first time, you will be amazed at its beauty, like a long trumpet, with huge and white flowers, it is really amazing!And the pink mandala is even more noble, like a lady in the mountains. Different from the simple shapes of other wildflowers, or the humility of climbing the mountain wall and standing at your feet, the mandala blooms on the side of the mountain road with big thorns. It is not only tall, but also gorgeous in appearance!It is also difficult to make people not want to see it. Is the big, big mountain flower in front of me the "mandala flower" in the Buddhist scriptures? In the "Lotus Sutra", when the Buddha said this scripture and entered the three flavors, four kinds of flowers, including Mandala, Maha Mandala, Manjusha, and Maha Manjusha, fell from the sky. The rain falling from the sky must have been a beautiful sight!

However, this flower is poisonous, and you must not pick it because of its beauty. Every time I climb a mountain and see a mandala on the roadside, I always remind myself this way.No matter how much I want to pick a few flowers and put them in a bottle, put them in front of the case. What is beautiful and poisonous?The answer is "desire". For Buddhists, whenever "desire" is mentioned, it is always regarded as something to be cursed and should be disliked, and they encourage themselves or persuade others to "dissociate from desire".Therefore, many people feel that Buddhism is so negative and pessimistic—one can’t do anything after learning Buddhism, and any enjoyment will be cut off, such as blue lamps, ancient Buddhas, simple tea and light food, coarse cloth and gray clothes...

I think it is impossible for a person to live himself as an isolated island.In a world where all karmic relationships are harmonious, there must be living materials, and there must also be dependents who have lived together. How can we completely cut them off?That being the case, then don’t read, don’t listen, don’t smell, right? The Buddha once said to Yu Duoluo, a heretic who believed that "don't look at the eyes and don't listen to the ears, you are cultivating in the six roots": "The blind can't see, and the deaf can't hear. Are they also cultivating roots?" , cannot really be free from desire.

The true detachment is to stay away from the troubles in the heart.This does not mean that we have to live a life of indulgence or greed, but that at the moment when the sense organs are in contact with the outside world, when greed, hatred, ignorance and other disturbing emotions arise, we can have a clear awareness and look deeply at ourselves. , and go beyond. It's like seeing a mandala beside the road, not being confused by its beauty, and impulsively stepping forward to pick it up, but can stop and think about the impact of your words and deeds on yourself and others?At this time, your choice will have more possibilities.

As long as you are clear about your goal and step up the mountain steadily, why not let the mandala along the way open and thank you! (This picture is provided by Wu Xiaodan)